Winter at Caer Dallben
by IJustLikeStores
Summary: Caer Dallben is one my favorite parts of the Chronicles of Prydain books, and I adore imagining what the days there were like. As with all my Prydain stories, it's regarding Taran and Eilonwy. I. Just. Can't. Help. it.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note: I'm thinking of making this a few chapters but I'm not sure... let me know if you'd like to read more of this, and I'll try to add to it!**_

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Winter came in harshly that year with a brutal cold that swept over the hills of Caer Dallben. The cottages and farm lay buried beneath heavy waves of snow. Up in a loft in the main cottage, the midnight chill sank deep into the princess's bones as she shivered in the corner of her room, desperately hoping to sleep the cold away. But the incessant chattering of her teeth kept her awake and miserable, no matter how tightly she tried to clench her jaw. For a moment she thought to go down to the room below and start the fire up again but the poor girl couldn't bare to leave the pitiful warmth of her bed.

The door creaked open below and she heard the muffled stomp of boots kicking off snow as the wind shrieked outside, trying to get in before the door shut with a soft thud. The boots shuffled across the room to the fire place and the muted sounds of wood being added to the empty fireplace filled the otherwise silent home.

Muttered curses floated up to her as the shivering voice below lit a new fire. Soon the crackle of flames reached her ears and a gentle light flickered through the curtains surrounding her loft. She waited for the heat to reach her.

More movement and clattering from below made her smile at the silly fool's attempt at stealth. Footsteps crept up the wooden staircase to the loft and she saw a tall, lean silhouette standing behind the curtain. He paused for a moment, then his arm brushed the fabric aside and he walked forward. When he saw that she was awake he stopped and dipped his head in an apology.

"Sorry, Eilonwy, I didn't mean to wake you." Taran tiptoed over to where she lay, still shivering, and she noticed he held more blankets in his arms. "I brought you these. I thought you could use them. It's horridly frigid out there tonight."

"Thank you." She moved to sit up and take the covers but he'd already knelt beside the princess and began to spread the blankets over her shaking body. Surrendering to his clumsy attempt at care, she let her head fall back into her straw pillow and gazed up at him. "Thank you." She said again.

"You're welcome." He smiled briefly, his face kind. It was a rarely seen side of him as the two of them always seemed to be at odds. Eilonwy found she rather liked him looking at her that way; gently.

Taran moved to go but she placed her hand on his arm and whispered for him to wait. He looked at her hand on his wrist then back to her face as she continued, "Would you stay with me a bit? Just until the warmth from the fire has reached up here?" Her face flushed at the improper suggestion but she was so cold that she decided to throw away propriety for the night. "Please?" She added when he hesitated.

He shook his head and shrugged the way Assistant Pig Keepers seem to do and awkwardly settled in next to her. The boy covered himself with one blanket, the rest left as a separation between their shivering bodies; a curtain left drawn shut.

The princess, never one to care for tact or decorum, drew closer to her friend so the warmth from his body seeped into her icy skin. For his part, Taran stiffened slightly and showed no sign of moving closer, but he didn't pull away. After a moment, he let his head fall to rest against hers, her hair ticking his cheek.

_I'll leave when she's asleep_, he told himself.

Pale, delicate sunlight drifted in through the cracks and onto Eilonwy's sleeping face. She woke from her dreaming, pleasantly warm despite the freezing night. Eyes still closed, she curled into the warmth beside her, wanting to be closer to it. It moved and sighed softly.

_Strange_, she thought, still half asleep and nuzzling in closer still. _I didn't know warmth could sigh, much less move_. She stilled, realization rushing into her now wide awake mind. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him sleeping soundly beside her. Taran's lips were parted, his soft breathing the only sound in the little loft; his hair was tousled around his face and the princess couldn't help but notice that he looked rather lovely in the early dawn.

The next thing she noticed was that he was now fully under the blankets he once used to separate them and she was nestled against him; his strong arms held her close and kept the winter chill at bay; her legs were tangled around his, their bodies close together.

_Now_, she wondered. _How do I get myself out of this mess?_


	2. Winter at Caer Dallben pt 2

The sound of thumping from outside woke Taran from his slumber. _Coll must be awake _, he thought, shifting his legs under the blankets. _Checking on the animals first thing, as always _. He knew that he should go out to help the old warrior but he was so warm beneath the covers. As he nestled deeper into the warmth something stirred at his side; a sigh of breath against his skin flung Taran from his dreamy haze and into the cold winter morning.

Heart thudding against his ribs he glanced down at the gentle form curled against him. Her red-gold hair was splayed out and falling across his collarbone, tickling his cheek. Eilonwy mumbled something about forgetting to wake up then was still again once more, lost in sleep. He smiled, his breath coming out in a rush. Quite impulsively, he leaned his face to hers, his nose caressing her jaw. He lifted a strand of her hair from the ground, letting it slide between his fingers. As it caught in the morning light it looked rather like the strands were on fire_. You sweet girl _, he thought.

He was about to whisper for her to wake up when he was gripped by the scandal of it all, and knowing how rather uncomfortable it would be should she wake with him there (or far worse, Coll discovering them and reporting it to Dallben!). He waited only until he was sure Coll had gone further on before he made to leave the bed and the sleeping girl.

He slid his arm out from under the princess; untangled their legs as gently as he could manage. _However did she get so tangled up? _He wondered_. Does she turn into a hurricane in her sleep?_ The boy was so focused on moving his legs from hers that his hand absently grazed over her midsection; the smooth curves of her belly and hips rolling beneath his touch. His stomach lurched at the feeling of her and a sigh slid from his lips. He looked down at his hand then up to her sleeping face, part of him hoping she'd awake and see him; perhaps she'd smile and draw him closer...or perhaps she'd shriek and throw him out, swearing she'd never speak to him again. For who could predict how the Princess of Llyr would react?

There were moments he thought that perhaps she felt as he did but then she'd become angry and declare him a fool and storm off, leaving him feeling confused and silly. He was never sure what he was doing wrong when around her but it seemed like there was always something. In one quick motion Taran pulled away, his mind buzzing and his heart dropped down to the floor. He strode from her little room, down the staircase, and out the door into the freezing cold dawn in a matter of seconds.

Closing the door behind him, he leaned back against the solid wood and let the icy wind cool his flushed body and mind as he tried to shake loose the image of Eilonwy laying beside him; the feeling of her body against his.

He shook his head and muttered a quiet, "Watch yourself," and began the march across the yard, determined to check on Henwen before Coll thought anything amiss. As he walked he fastened his heavy winter cloak about him, though he was half tempted to freeze to death rather than face the princess later.

When he reached her pen Henwen stared at him accusingly, her white snout in the air.

"What?" The boy snapped as he leapt over the gate. "I've done nothing, don't raise your nose at me, you silly pig."

She snorted and turned from him, trotting back to her small hut. Filled with regret, Taran went to her and petted her side.

"Hen, I am sorry." He dropped down into the snow beside her, welcoming the cold that surrounded him. "But you know how she makes me."

Henwen dropped her head on his shoulder and he leaned his forehead against her fuzzy head. "If only things were different then perhaps...but no. Hen, I am simply a silly fool as she says. I am afraid that I shall always be."

After the oracular pig was taken care of, Taran left the pen, covered in snow, and walked back to the house, making sure to avoid the scullery and a certain girl he knew would be there making breakfast.


	3. Winter at Caer Dallben pt 3

It had been two days since Eilonwy awoke with Taran at her side and that silly Pig Keeper had yet to say more than a dozen words to her during that whole time. Sometimes she would start to wonder if she imagined the whole thing, then she would bump into Taran and his face would turn beet red as he murmured some nonsense about weeding the garden. In the winter . Honestly, did he think her a fool or was he so foolish that he simply spit out whatever words came to mind?

As she prepared the evening meal (a task she found she strangely enjoyed) on the second night of him ignoring her, she decided she'd had enough. After all, he was the one who came to her that night, was he not? It wasn't her fault. She merely suggested he stay for a while and the silly boy spent the whole night! Yes, she was decided; she would end their silence. She had no one else to talk to therefore the Pig Keeper must overcome whatever strangeness he'd decided to go through.

Dallben, Coll, and Taran assembled around the table as she set the last of the food upon the wooden surface, steam rising from the clay dishware.

"Thank you, Eilonwy." Dallben smiled through his beard.

"Yes, thank you, dear." Coll echoed. The warmth of his grin and shiny bald head always made her smile.

Tara said nothing. She began to fume.

"Well," She sniffed, her fine nose pointed upwards. "At least some of you are grateful."

"Oh!" Taran looked up from the table. "Thank you, Eilonwy." He stammered. "I meant no disrespect. I-I was lost in thought."

"Hmpf." She lowered herself onto her seat with all regality of her bloodline; like a princess among peasants.

Taran again felt the weight of unworthiness on his young shoulders. For months now he's sat across from a princess every night, and each night he seemed more and more the fool. What he wouldn't give to seem a man in her eyes. But the eyes of her Highness were sharp, and the heart our Pig Keeper, impatient.

Coll spoke of the coming spring, how best to ready the animals and soil, his favorite methods for winter to spring preparation; Dallben was quiet as usual save for irregular comments such as, "The crows are restless today", or "The river aches to flow beyond the heaviness of ice." every once and awhile. Eilonwy tried not to smile at these outbursts for she knew they meant a great deal, but they often sounded so silly it was hard to keep a straight face.

Taran said nothing since thanking her for the meal and she could feel her cheeks warm with emotion as she grew more frustrated with him. At least pretend things are normal , she thought.

"Taran." She practically shouted over Coll's voice. Taran's eyes leapt to hers. "Anything interesting happened to you lately?"

Coll, who had been rudely cut off by this outburst, stared back and forth from the two of them in befuddlement. Dallben glanced over casually before gazing off at distant things only the sacrosanct could see. Taran, for his part, looked like a fish gasping on land.

"Well, I-" He swallowed his mouthful. "I suppose nothing of consequence. Hen and I did see an odd bird today. It had blue wings with silver feathers underneath. I've not seen one of those before."

"I say," Began Coll. "Did it-"

"Birds are lovely and all," Eilonwy cut in. "But anything else? Something more strange perchance?"

"I-I don't believe so." Taran's expression looked lost and trapped; a man with no road to choose. She almost felt sorry for him. But not quite.

"How fascinating." Her glare could cut through steel but to the credit of our Pig Keeper, he met her gaze with a resilience that sent her heart to the stars and shivers down her spine. She would never tell him such things of course and her lofty gaze revealed no secrets.

Coll looked more confused than ever. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he seemed to think better of it. Dallben, by now, had become utterly lost in higher things.

"Perhaps you have something you wish to share, princess?" Taran's words hit her like a fist. Did he actually challenge me back? She wondered.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She lifted her head high up to look down at him. "But maybe it's you that has something to share."

"Eilonwy, I assure you I don't know what you're asking." His voice was almost level. Almost.

"Taran of Caer Dallben, why won't you just admit it?" She threw her chair back and stood up. "Stop playing silly games!"

"Why won't you admit it, you silly girl?" He lurched up as well, his fingers spread flat on the table as he leaned forward towards the raging royalty that now glowered at him for all she was worth.

"Agh!" She shrieked and, spinning on her heel, stomped from the room, a cloud of fury boiling in her wake.

"You can't just storm away when things aren't going your way, Eilonwy!" Taran thundered after her. The winter chill bit through the small room before he slammed the door closed behind him. "Eilonwy, you have to speak!"

Only the whisper of winter's night answered him. He huffed in annoyance, his footsteps heavy as he tramped through the snow after his princess.


	4. Winter at Caer Dallben pt 4

He followed her snowy footprints to the slumbering orchard, pausing when he saw her standing beneath the bare white trees. The snow falling around her, the wind lifting her hair in gentle waves, and the light from the stars created a vision Taran would never forget; looking at her then, he knew no one could doubt the ancient power lurking in her bloodline. And yet, somehow, she looked small next to the cold grandeur of the bare trees and he felt the need to wrap her in his arms to keep the cold from her body. But that desire is what got him in this predicament to begin with. She was so cold that night, he couldn't leave her to shiver alone in that drafty loft, shrouded in the chill of night. And this was her thanks.

The boy frowned and called Eilonwy's name as he strode to where she stood, his hands clenched into fists.

"Oh, Taran, leave me alone!" She flipped her hair and turned from him, her back rigid and her strong shoulders thrown back. "I don't want to speak to you anymore."

"It's a shame then because I have something to say to you." He took her arm and spun her to face him. She yanked her arm from his loose grip but Taran seemed to not even notice.

"Eilonwy, you can't be angry at me when I've done nothing wrong! I didn't mean to fall asleep that night and I have been trying to behave as though nothing happened ever since, and yet you seem very well determined to make sure everyone and everything around knows something happened. I don't understand."

"Of course you don't." She sniffled, staring past him over his shoulder. Her blue eyes sparkled in the starlight and he realized she was holding back tears. His stomach lurched as it always does when he sees her cry but he dug his heels in. I'm not making her cry , he told himself. She's the one who made this mess, not I . Still, he thought it best to take the path of pleading rather than demanding.

"Tell me then, please. I am tired of this silliness." His voice was a little calmer as he tried to reason with her. "Eilonwy what have I done?"

She finally met his eyes. Her lips quivered slightly and her breath came out in a frozen fog. "You slighted me-and I know that sounds silly," She rushed to continue. "But Taran you're all I have to talk to. What, could I talk to Coll about magic or the sea, or Dallben? Can you imagine?"

"Eilonwy-"

"I'm not finished. I was lonely without badgering me. I'd spent so much of my life alone, Taran, until I found you and came to live at Caer Dallben with all of you; you know this. When you avoided me it felt like I was back at Spiral Castle again, wandering the tunnels for a prisoner to speak to."

"Oh." Taran, for what seemed like the hundredth time that week, felt like a fool.

She averted her gaze and looked down at their feet, her golden hair shielding one side of her face. A tear slipped from her eye, falling through the winter night like a diamond droplet. He opened and closed his mouth a few times but no words would come, the air around them hollow and still. How did he always get into these absurd fights with her that left them both feeling worse than they were before?

He saw another tear forming and as it tumbled down her cheek he reached out impulsively and caught it on his finger; the tear was warm but her face felt like ice against his skin. Instinctively he cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away the stray tears. She stared up at him in silence, clouds of breath escaping from her parted lips. Taran felt as though he was falling forward, or perhaps the world was melting away, as he became lost in the depth of her shining eyes. He thought that maybe that's what it was like to fall into the sea.

He took a step closer, the toes of their boots touching. The falling snow had already begun to cover them in a layer of white. Snowflakes glittered in Eilonwy's hair and eyelashes. It was like the stars had fallen from the sky and came to rest on her.

"Taran…" She said his name so quietly that he wondered if she truly said anything at all or if it had been the wind.

Still, words would not come to him and with a sigh of resolve, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to him, burying his cold face into her hair. After a moment he felt her arms slide around his waist as she held him back. His stomach turned over itself deep inside of him and he felt as though he had accidentally opened a locked door in his heart. But perhaps that was something to examine another time.

Slowly, with great resolve, he peeled his body away from her. His arms lowered to his sides as her hands grazed his hips as she, too, released him.

"Let's get back inside, Eilonwy." He motioned his head toward the main cottage. "It is far too cold out for an evening stroll."

His miserable attempt at a joke was rewarded with a small smile from the princess and he finally felt as though he did something right.

Eilonwy, for her part, was speechless for the first time in her life as they walked back, the snow falling silently around them.


End file.
